Socket wrench with lever operated pawl means and a thrust block for said pawl means



June 3, 1969 G. LACHANCE 3,447,404

SOCKET WRENCH WITH LEVER OPERATED PAWL MEANS AND A THRUST BLOCK FOR SAID PAWL MEANS Filed Sept. 27, 1967 /N VEN 7 0/? Gasfan ZAfl/A/VC! PA TENT AGE/V7 United States Patent 3,447,404 SOCKET WRENCH WITH LEVER OPERATED PAWL MEANS AND A THRUST BLOCK FOR SAID PAWL MEANS Gaston Lachance, St. Apolline de Patton, Quebec, Canada Filed Sept. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 670,890 Int. Cl. B25b 21/02 US. Cl. 81-54 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention concerns a socket wrench comprising a handle, at one end of which a socket member is rotatable, and a lever pivotally mounted at the other end of the handle, the handle housing a mechanism whereby operation of the lever in both directions with respect to the handle will cause unidirectional rotation of'the socket member.

The present invention relates to socket wrench and, more particularly, to a ratchet socket wrench and has for its general object a socket wrench of the character described, which maybe utilized in close quarters where the usual socket wrench would be unable to function.

Another more specific object of the present invention resides in the provision of a socket wrench comprising a handle at one end of which the socket member is rotatable and a lever pivotally mounted at the other end of the handle, and of novel mechanism located Within said handle and interconecting said socket and lever whereby operation of the latter in both directions will cause unidirectional rotation of the socket member, so constructed and arranged that the socket member may be rotated either by bodily movement of the handle and lever, or by pivotal movement of the lever with respect to the handle in either direction.

The socket wrench in accordance with the present invention comprises: a hollow handle, a socket member journalled transversely through one end of said handle, ratchet teeth formed on said socket member around the same and located in said hollow handle, a pair of pawl members extending longitudinally within the handle and having engaging ends associated with the ratchet teeth on the same side of said socket member with respect to its rotational axis, and a lever fulcrumed in the opposite end of the handle and movable independently thereof, said last-named lever having extensions at opposite sides of said fulcrum to which the opposite ends of said pawl members are pivoted, one of said pawl members consisting of a one-piece substantially straight member, the other of said pawl members composed of two sections pivotally interconnected, and a thrust block secured within said hollow handle and having a surface with which the pivotally interconnected ends of the sections of said other pawl member are in sliding engagement.

The foregoing and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent during the following disclosure and by referring to the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial perspective view of the tool in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view from one side, the cover being removed;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view from the opposite side, the other cover being removed;

FIGURE 4 is a partial longitudinal section taken along line 44 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross-section taken along line 5--5 of FIGURE 3.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate like elements ice throughout, the socket wrench in accordance with the invention comprises: a handle, generally indicated at 1, at one end of which is rotatably mounted a socket memher 2 and at the other end of which is pivotally connected a lever 3. More specifically, handle 1 consists of an elongated hollow body 4 forming enlarged end portions 5 and 6, of substantially circular shape, and provided with flat covers 7 secured to body 4 by means of screws, or the like 9.

Socket member 2 is in the form of a wheel provided with cylindrical end portions 10 rotatably mounted and journalled within circular holes made in the covers 7. Between end portions 10, the socket member 2 has a central circular flange 11 and, on each side of flange 11, ratchet teeth 12 and 13, the tip of which does not protrude radially outwardly from flange 12, are located adjacent to same.

The ratchet teeth 12 are staggered with respect to ratchet teeth 13, as clearly shown in FIGURE 4, and the teeth 12 and 13 are inclined in the same direction. The external radial faces of the ratchet teeth formations are in sliding engagement with the inside faces of covers 7.

Socket member 2 is provided with a through bore 14, of square or other polygonal shape, for the reception of a socket, or nut or other member, to be turned.

Handle 1 is secured to an enlarged head 15 having a stud shaft 16 journalled in circular holes of covers. Head 15 forms cylindrical lateral surfaces 17 coaxial with stud shaft 16 and having a sliding fit with the circular flanges of the enlarged end portion 6 of body 4.

Adjacent handle 1, the cylindrical surfaces 17 form shoulders 18 adapted to protrude through opening 19 of the cylindrical flanges of body 4 and adapted to abut against the end edges of said flanges, in the two limit angular positions of the lever 3 symmetrically on both sides of the long axis of handle 1.

Pawl members 20 and 21 are pivotally connected at 22 and 23 respectively to head 15 of lever 3 in laterally olfset position and on both sides of the long axis of handle 1 and of stud shaft 16 at equal radial distances from shaft 16.

Pawl member 20 consists of an elongated straight bar gradually tapering towards its free end, which is formed with an end finger 24 and a lateral finger 25, adapted to engage two successive ratchet teeth 12 on one side'of socket member 2 and urged into said engagement by a tension spring 26 attached to pawl member 20 and to the body 4.

Pawl member 21 is composed of two sections which are pivotally interconnected, namely: a straight inner section 27 and a straight outer section 28. Section 27 is pivoted at 23 to head 15 and section 28 is pivoted at 29 to section 27, and its outer end is formed with an end finger 30 and a lateral finger 31.

Inner section 27 converges with respect to pawl memer 20 in a direction away from head 15, and the pivotal connection 29 is adapted to slide on a slide surface of thrust block 32 secured inside body 4 in the middle zone thereof. The outer end section 28 of pawl member 21 stands substantially side by side with pawl member 20 and its end finger 30 and lateral finger 31 are adapted to engage two successive ratchet teeth 13 on the same side of the socket member 2 as the engagement of the pawl member 20 with said socket member, and section 28 of pawl member 21 is urged into engagement with the ratchet teeth 13 of the socket member 2 by means of a tension coil spring 33 attached to section 28 and to body 4. A tension spring 33 is attached to inner section 27 and body 4 and serves, together with spring 33, to maintain pivotal connection 29 in slidable contact with block 32.

The ratchet wrench in accordance with the invention operates as follows:

Supposing the handle 1 is held stationary, by pivoting lever 3 to the left, as shown in FIGURE 3, pawl member 20 is displaced forwardly, that is towards socket memher 2, and rotates the latter in an anticlockwise direction to the extent of one or more ratchet teeth until no more room is available for pivotal movement of lever 3 with respect to handle 1, or until the associated shoulder 18 abuts the end edge of opening 19.

Subsequent pivotal movement of lever 3 towardsthe right, as seen in FIGURE 3, with respect to handle 1, the latter being held stationary, will cause retracting movement of pawl member 20 and forward movement of pawl member 21, which will cause rotation of socket member 2, also in anticlockwise direction, because the two pawl members engage the socket member 2 on the same side.

Thus, every pivotal movement of lever 3 with respect to handle 1 is effective to rotate the socket member 2. Because the ratchet teeth 12 and 13 are staggered, very limited pivotal movement of lever 3 with respect to handle 1 is sutficient for rotation of the socket member 2. Thus, the wrench can be used in very close quarters and is yet very fast in its operation.

Whenever there is sufficient room, lever 3 can be pivoted on one side with respect to handle 1 and the assembly of handle 1 and lever 3 used as one unit to rotate the socket member 2, which, in this case, does not rotate with respect to handle 1.

Although two cover members 7 and 8 have been illustrated, it is understood that one of said cover members may be made integral with body 4 to form the bottom thereof. It will be noted that central flange 11 forms radial guide surfaces for the two pawl members, together with covers 7.

What I claim is:

1. A socket wrench comprising a hollow handle, a socket member journalled .tranversely through one end of said handle, ratchet teeth formed on said socket member around the same and located in said hollow handle, a pair of pawl members extending longitudinally within the handle and having engaging ends associated with the ratchet teeth on the same side of said socket member with respect to its rotational axis, and a lever fulcrumed in the opposite end of the handle and movable independently thereof, said last-named lever having extensions at opposite sides of said fulcrum to which the opposite ends of said pawl members are pivoted, one of said pawl members consisting of a one-piece substantially straight member, the other of said pawl members composed of two sections pivotally interconnected, and a thrust'block secured within said hollow handle and having a surface with which the pivotally interconnected ends of the sections of said other pawl member are in sliding engagement.

2. A socket wrench as claimed in claim 1, further including spring members urging the pivotally intercor1- nected end portions of the two sections of said other pawl member into sliding engagement with said thrust block surface and said two pawl members into engagement with said ratchet teeth.

3. A socket wrench as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one of said pawl sections pivotally connected to said lever converges with respect to the one-piece pawl member in a direction away from said lever, and the other of said pawl sections in engagement with the ratchet teeth extend side by side and in the same direction with respect to said one-piece pawl member.

4. A socket wrench as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sokcet member comprises two series of ratchet teeth surrounding the same and disposed in two transversely spaced planes, the ratchet teeth of the two series inclined in the same direction, the ratchet teeth of one series being staggered with respect to the ratchet teeth of the other series.

5. A socket wrench as claimed in claim 4, wherein said socket member further includes a central circular flange separating the ratchet teeth of the two series and extending between the same, said flange forming a guiding radial surface for said two pawl members.

6. A socket wrench as claimed in claim 4, wherein each pawl member forms an axial finger and a laterally protruding finger at its ratchet teeth engaging end, adapted to engage two successive ratchet teeth of the socket member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 935,482 9/1909 'Fresko 8154 1,254,587 l/1918 Erickson 8158.1 1,900,378 3/1933 Baash et a1 81-53 2,723,580 11/1955 Brame 81-58.1 X 2,842,995 7/1958 Johnson 81--58.2 X

MYRON C. KRUSE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 8158.1 

